Friday Potpourri: 20 September 2024

Some fun, some serious, and some housekeeping

Ms. Melania talks about being a nude model. Really, defends it. Video here. Call me crazy but if we were going to have a first lady (2017 - 2021 ONLY) who was involved with nakedness and was a bed buddy of you-know-who, I personally would have preferred Stormy Daniels. Bright, personable, loquacious, and not Botoxed into a face that never moves. Might just be me. BTW, rumor has it that he’s sleeping with Laura Loomer. This seems especially likely after her denial.

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Remember the idiot MAGA woman who lost her cat, blamed Haitians and started the whole rumor? Seems her cat had been hiding in her basement the whole time. Really. This reminds me of Mitt Romney’s dog Seamus. Remember? Dog in carrier on roof of car as the family drove from Massachusetts to Canada? Seamus got sick. (Who wouldn’t?!?!?). One story says that Seamus had the sense to run away in Canada, where he was likely adopted by a decent family. The Ohio cat should think about that.

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WaPo has an article on the relative riches of the candidates. Here’s the link. Of interest to me is Governor Walz, who is just SOOOOO America. And yeah, the Convicted Felon is lying. But back to Tim and Gwen Walz: they pulled money out of their retirement account to pay college tuition for their daughter, Hope. These are people who understand working for a living, and making hard financial choices.

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You know how I go on and on about the potential government shutdown and the absolute adherence to getting the SAVE Act attached to the CR? Of course you do. What you might not know is WHY the Convicted Felon has convinced his minions that the SAVE Act is paramount.

Currently, under law, under the Constitution, elections are administered by the states. The SAVE Act would bring the Federal government into the process, and wouldn’t really change anything EXCEPT one of his arguments against prosecution is that he was making sure that laws were faithfully executed. While a new Federal law wouldn’t be retroactive, it would enable him to gunk up the works with another trip to the Supremes.

We’re in good shape about the CR though. Either the House will push through a clean 3-month CR or the Senate will. Either way, the House will have to accept it. OH YEAH with Democratic votes. The CR is really critical for Veterans, military readiness and a host of other things. So, while I internally enjoy the fever dream of all the Rethuglicans having to spend their last month campaigning and answering questions about why THEY caused the shutdown, well, it’s better to keep the government open.

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In addition to knowing about my fascination with potential government shutdowns, you also know my great disdain for polls. You know who agrees with me? Allan Lichtman. You know, the historian who has correctly predicted all the presidential election outcomes, except 2000, since 1984. And as an aside, Gore only lost because of Scalia. Anyway, Lichtman, based on his 13 markers, has made his pick, and it’s Vice President Kamala Harris. Link.

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A little Substack housekeeping. Last week I polled y’all on the Substack chat function. In round numbers, 20% were interested, 30% were disinterested, and 50% were maybes.

Substack announced last night a live video feed function. My immediate thought was that if I got someone to hold the camera, I could live stream **me** interacting with a presidential/vice-presidential debate. Other people watch debates: I fact check in real time, yell things like “You’re a f***ing liar”, jump up and down when our side makes great points, throw popcorn at the screen (the dogs appreciate that) and pause to make contributions for great hits.

Thus, it wouldn’t be a podcast where the presenter sits and speaks, it would be you watching the debate on your tv, and frenetic me running around my living room as seen on your iPad. While I actually don’t understand the technology, and am not sure I could pull off the technology, you know what’s coming.

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The other housekeeping bit… I will not be posting again until Tuesday 24 September. I am leaving later today for a weekend celebrating my <enter large number here> high school reunion. I am beyond excited. When they announced the date last year, it was not anywhere near a given that I’d be healthy enough to attend. But I have my oncologist’s permission for me, my HEPA filter, mask wardrobe and Enovid spray to attend. I’ve known some of these people since first grade.

We have a private FB page that was launched for our reunion 10 years ago. People have been posting photos old and new, discussing travel arrangements and just plain expressing excitement. Our graduating class was like a dandelion - we spread out in many directions, and while some people stayed in the NY/NJ/CT area, others are coming in from the West Coast, from various states around the country, and even from Canada and Switzerland. While the official reunion is Saturday night, there are Friday, Saturday day and Sunday plans.

While I won’t be blogging on politics, below is the shirt I’ll be wearing on Friday. I’ll have Project 2025 handouts in my backpack in case anyone needs them, and if (and I cannot believe this would be possible since I know my classmates) if anyone needs to register or get a mail-in ballot, I’m all set to help.

If you miss me while I’m gone, you can always take a look at the archive. While no one who subscribes to this blog would do this, you never know who in social media world might read it. And so - if any ne’er do well is thinking of robbing my house while I’m gone - the rest of the family will still be home, and the little dog will hurt you.

Have a great weekend! “See” you Tuesday.